Pump valve



Sept. 15, 1942. J. CORYDON ETAL 2,295,774

' PUMP VALVE Filed Feb. 26, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVE TORS Jeff Cory on allery Sept. 1942- J. CORYDON ET AL I 2,295,774

PUMP VALVE Filed Feb. 26, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Jeff Gorydan Patented Sept. 15, 1942 UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE PUMP VALVE Jeff Corydon and Herbert E. Bollberg,

Providence, 3. I.

Application February 26, 1941, Serial No. 380,629 7 Claims. (Cl. 251-144) plete disclosure of mechanical features not form-- ing part of this invention.

As is well understood in th art, the pumping of corrosive reagents, such as hypochlorite, caustic, ammonia and the variou commercially employed acids'and salts have necessitated the use of extremely expensive alloys in the several parts of the reagent head, or feeder, of the pump. Not only is. theme of these alloys objectionable from the view point of the expenseinvoived, but they additionally present extreme difficulties in all machining operations.

Furthermore, although the use of the noncorrosive material such as rubber, for example,

was resorted to in the beforementioned Patent No. 2,145,566, with a view to overcoming the problem of corrosion, it will nonetheless be obvious that this material is characterized by physical limitations which preclud recourse to conventional methods of attachment of one part to another. Thus: although rubber resistscorrosion, the advantages realized by its use are in large measure offset by the necessity of resorting to non-conventional structural and assembly procedure.

It is accordingly one object of the present invention to provide a new and improved apparatus of the character described, the respective parts of which shall be formed-of a non-corrosive material characterized by structural properties permitting the use of conventional metal work forms formed of a transparent plastic material to permit visual inspection of the action of the valve, the displacement pump, and movement of the chemical under operating conditions.

Yet another object of the invention consists in providing a new and improved method of and ably threaded bores in the rib 2|.

means for effecting a fluid tight connection be- 5 tween removable elements of a device of the character described and more particularly between a valve cage and its seat. Y

Still a further object of the invention is the provision of a valve and a sight feeder construction for a chemical feeder of the character described which provides visual proof of th performance of the feeder, as well as sight feed of the chemical itself, and which said construction is readily accessible for purposes of cleaning and repair.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side-elevation, partly in section,

or a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the device shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is'a top view of the device shown in Figures 1 and 2.

In the form of the invention chosen for illustration herein, the machine frame is fragmentarily indicated at "I. It will be understood that the frame l0 may take the form of that shown in the beforementioned Patent No.,2,145,566 and that, as is additionally shown in the patent of reference, the frame may be utilized to support an electric motor or other type of driving mechanism effective to reciprocate a reagent pump or feeder generally designated ll.

Provision is made for mounting the feeder II on the base I 0 by forming the later part with an upstanding end wall 12 which is defined by a substantially annular flange l3 having a central circular opening H.

The bforementioned opening I 4 is arranged to receive a sleeve-like extension l5 Of a metallic or Bakelite mounting member it which forms part of the feeder ll. Mounting'member l6 includes an outwardly extending securing flange l1, substantially co-extensive with the base flange l3 and arranged to be regidly secured thereto 'by means such as screws l8.

The outer (lefthand in Fig. 1) end face of mounting member I6 is provided with a flat peripheral surface l9 separated from a large axial bore 20 by a circular rib 2 I.

A flexible diaphragm 22 is clamped between the end face of circular rib 2i andthe main body 23, of feeder II, by means of spaced screws 24 which extend through the body 23 to engage suit- The body portion 23 of feeder II is formed with a bore 25 which is concentric with th bore 20 of mounting' member l5 and provides in conjunction with the latter, a pumping chamber, the volume of which may be alternately increased and decreased by reciprocation of the diaphragm 22 by means such as an actuating rod 26, slidably'supported by the member I5.

Now referring to body member 23 of feeder As shown in Fig. 2, the central section of the body member is generally circular in contour, its peripheral surface being formed withmerging circular bosses 21 and 28 which, in the present embodiment of the invention. lie at the extremities of vertically disposed radii,

The bosses 21 and 28 are formed with similar, stepped concentricbores consisting of outer circular portions 29 and 29a, and inner portions 30 and 30a respectively, the portions 30 and 30a. being of lesser diameter than the circular bores and providing communication with axial passages 3| and 32 formed in the body of the feeder.

It will be seen that the inner ends of passages 3| and 32 communicate with the chamber defined by the bore 25 in the inner (righthand end) face of the body member. Thus the passages 3| and 32 are in communication with the pumping chamber in which the diaphragm 22 is arranged to be reciprocated by rod 26.

Reverting now to the internal structural features of boss 21, which will be seen to be identical with those of boss 28: passage 3| opens into inner bore 30 through a port formed by an annular shoulder 33, the internal edge of which is bevelled to provide a seat for a discharge valve 34. It will be noted that the shoulder 33 defines a shallow well 35 surrounding the shoulder and extending radially outwardly to merge with the tapered, vertical sidewall of bore 30. A valve cage 36 is utilized to'normally maintain the discharge valve 34 in closed position on the seat provided by shoulder 33.

Valve cage 36, like the body portion 23 of the feeder, is constructed of a transparent plastic material", one of whose characteristics is a tendency to yield somewhat under pressure. This lack of rigidity in the valve cage ordinarily preeludes the use of such material because distortion of the body of the valve might becommunicated to its gasketed seat and thus give rise to leaking. We have accordingly provided new and improved means of establishing a leak proof engagement between the valve cage and the bodyof the feeder.

As will be apparent from Figure 1, the lower end of the valve cage is formed with a bore 31, the diameter of which is substantially equal to that of the external surface of shoulder 33. A' washer 38, locked between the external edge of shoulder 33 and the lower internal edge of bore 31 will be seen to provide a continuous knife edge contact between the lower end of the valve cage and shoulder 33.

When the valve cage is forcibly held in its assembled position, as shown in the drawings, any pressures which might otherwise tend to distort its body and thus destroy the tightness of its engagement with its seat, will only serve to increase the area of its contact with washer 38, as a consequence of which a leak-proof engagement is provided.

The valve 34 is arranged to be loaded without recourse to springs or other metallic means which would necessarily be susceptible to corrosion in use. To this end the valve consists of a rubber body portion of substantially spherical contour, with an integral, radially extending arm 39 which projects upwardly into proximity with the inner end of an axial bore 40, formed in the cage 36. When the valve is raised from its seat I wall of bore 40, with the result that further displacement of the valve is yieldably resisted by its arm.

The diameter of the arm 39 is such as will provide a sufficient degree of resiliency to permit displacement of the valve during the discharge action of the diaphragm. The use of a plastic material in the valve cage 36, coupled with the structural features disclosed, produced further advantage ,of great flexibility in the amount of tension which may be placed upon the valve itself without recourse to difficult machining operations. In this latter connection it will be apparent that when it is desired to exert a greater seating force upon the valve, it is only necessary to shorten the skirt 31 of the valve cage so as to cause the arm 39 to engage. the inner end of bore 40 with increasing pressure. This operation is readily effected by a very light surface grinding operation and may even be satisfactorily accomplished by hand with the aid of a file or fine sand or emery paper.

The valve is guided for movement into and p out of engagement with its seat, by the additional action of an integrally formed arm 4| which extends radially from the body of the valve on a diameter common to the arm 39., As will be seen, the arm 4| is freely received in the discharge passage 3| so as not to interfere with the flow of reagent therethrough, but

is of sufiicient diameter to guide the valve back,

or dome 42, which, like the cage itself, is formed I of a transparent plastic material. More specifically, the open end of dome. 42 is formed with an external thread 43 arranged to engage a similar thread provided on the inner cylindrical surfaceof bore 29 in boss 21. To provide for guiding of the cage 36 into engagement with' its seat, the closed inner surface of the dome is provided with a circular recess 44 of such size as to snugly receive the outer end of the cage.

The dome itself is threaded into engagement with a circular seat similar to that provided for the cage. As shown in the drawings, the cylindrical bore 29 terminates in a shallow annular well 45 formed by the wall of the bore and an annular rib 46 which defines the upper end of the bore 30. A washer 41 is clamped between the inner edge of the open end of dome 42 and the outside edge of the rib 46 to form a knife edge engagement of the parts, such as was described in connection with the seat of the cage 36. The construction of the dome and cage seats obviates extreme precision in the manufacturing of parts because either is adapted toyield sufwill be a tendency for the flange to expand as the pressure upon its edge is increased. Since the material of the cage, as well as that of the washer. is capable of yielding somewhat, it will be obvious that the construction employed will permitconsiderable downward adjustment of the cage even after its edge has contacted washer 36. Similarly, the depth of the well 46 is such that the dome may be screwed downwardly beyond the point where its inner edge first contacts the surface of'the washer 41. It will be noted in this connection that the, diameter 1 the external vertical surface of shoulder 46 is somewhat less than the internal diameter of the dome so as to provide for wedging the washer between those surfaces. Thus, the construction permits of suiilcient latitude to insure seating of the inner edge of the dome against its washer 41 without extremely fine control of the dimensions of the parts..

It is now possible to trace the'flow of reagent discharged through the passage 3|: As will be understood, the discharge stroke of the diaphragm 22 will force reagent upwardly through passage 3|, thus unseating the ,valve 34 against the resiliency of its arm 3!. Liquid thus passing the valve, enters bore 31 of the cage 36 and then passes upwardly through similar internal passages 43 formed in the cage, and is discharged from ports 49 into the space defined between then cage and dome 42. The discharged reagent flows downwardly through the space between the dome and the valve cage to the well 35, formed by the bottom of bore 30; and thence outwardly through a passage 50 which communicates at-its inner end with the bore. The passage 50 is formed in an integral portion II of 'the body 23 of the feeder, and may be utilized for attachment to a hose, or other type of connection, leading to the point at which the reagent is to be employed.

As shown in the lower portion of Fig, 1, a transparent dome 32 is threaded into the 26 to seat against a washer 62 similar in all resDects to the washer 41. Washer 53 coacts with the inner open edge of dome 62, and a shoulder similar to the corresponding part of the construction described in connection with the discharge valve, to form a liquid-tight seal between the dome and body member 23. Dome 52 is further provided with a shallow recess 54 to guide a valve cage 65 into engagement with a seat formed by a washer 66 which acts between the inner edge of a bore 51 in the inner end of the cage, and a shoulder similar in all respects to the corresponding part previously described in con-. nection with the cage 36.

In addition to the bore 61, the cage 55' is provided with an axial passage 62 which communicates at its upper end with bore 61 and at its lower end with a transverse passage 69 extending through the body of the cage. A check valve 60 is adapted to rest in the port defined by the opening between passage 68 and bore 61 and is guided for movement by an integrally formed, downwardly extending arm 6| which is guided by the passage 56.

A passage 62 formed in a boss 63 similar in all respects to the boss Ii, communicates at its inner end with the bore 3IA and thus with the space lying between dome 62 and cage 56. The outer end of passage 62 is connected by any suitable means to a source of reagent to be pumped.

studied before any attempt Now considering the action of the device during a suction stroke of the diaphragm 22. As the latter moves to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1,

'a partial vacuum is created which extends downwardly through passage 32 into the bore 61 of cage 66, resulting in the valve 60 being raised from its seat. When valve 60 is thus elevated, reagent is permitted to flow from the space between cage 66 and dome 52 through passage 69, thence upwardly through passage 56 and finally into passage 32 from where it flows into the chamber in which the diaphragm 22 operates. A pair of diametrically opposed fins or bosses 23-A formed integrally with the body portion 23, or if desired as part of a washer, prevents the upper surface of valve 60, as viewed in Figure 1 from seating in the lower end of passage 32, thus insuring a free flow of reagent into the pump chamber. It will be obvious that when the suction stroke of the diaphragm is completed, the valve 60 will again drop into engagement with its seat, thus flow of the reagent. Hence, when the diaphragm commences a discharge stroke, reagent collected in its chamber will be forced upwardly through the cage 36 from where it is discharged through ports 49 into'the space between cage 36 and dome 42 as previously described.

Since the body 23 of the feeder, as well as its valve cages 36 and 55, and domes 42 and 52, are formed of a transparent plastic material, the action of the device will be visible in all of its phases. 48 in the cage 36 will insure an intermittent spurting of the reagent from ports 49, so as to provide a striking visual proof of satisfactory operation of both valves 60 arid 34. If for any reason either valve fails to function, that failure will be instantly apparent through the body of the device and the nature of its failure can be at remedying the condition is made. The construction of the domes 42 and 52, as well as the manner of their connection with the body 23, is such that they may be readily unscrewed for the purpose of replacing either the valve cages or the valves and reassembly of the device can be accomplished with a minimum of time loss and without the In addition to its properties of ease of assembly, disassembly adjustment, and visual evidence of operation, the construction illustrated possesses the added property of being readily cleaned, as might become necessary in the use of chemicals inclined to form precipitates on the internal surfaces of the feeder and its associated parts.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a valve construction for a device of the character described, the combination of a transparent body member, a valve, a valve seat in said body member, a valve comprising a spherically shaped rubber body portion with an integrally formed rubber arm extending normally to the plane of the valve seat, a transparent valve cage formed with a bore adapted to receive the arm on said valve, said arm being arranged to engage the inner end of said bore when the body porpreventing a reversal in the Furthermore, theprovision of passages ing an axial bore to receive character described, the combination of a transparent plastic body member, a valve comprising against movement and transparent plastic means to maintain said valve cage in effective position.

' 3. In a valve construction for a device of the character described,,the combination of a valve formed of flexible material, a flexible arm formed integrally with said valve and extending radially therefrom in a direction normal to the plane defined by the line of contact of the valve with its seat, a valve cage formed of transparent material to guide said valve into and out of engagement with said valve seat, said valve cage hav the arm on said valve, and means to maintain said valve cage in valve supporting position including a transparent molded dome arranged to be screwed into position to exert a compressive force on said cage.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of a body member, avalve seat in said body member, a valve on said seat, a circular shoulder: co-axial with said valve seat; a valve cage arranged to guide said valve for movement into and out of engagement with said seat, said valve cage including a circular skirt, of substantially the same internal diameter assaid beforementioned shoulder, a washer adapted to be wedged between an edge of said skirt and an edge of said shoulder to provide a liquid tight seal between said cage and said body member, a second circular shoulder concentric with and relatively larger than said first shoulder, a dome arranged to be threaded into said body member on a body thread formed concentrically with said last mentioned shoulder to maintain said cage in valve guiding position, and a washer arranged to be wedged between an edge of said last mentioned shoulder and an edge of said dome to provide a liquid tight joint between said dome and said body member.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination of a transparent body member, a valve seat in said body member, a valve on said seat, a circular shoulder co-axial with said valve seat, a transparent valve cage arranged to guide said valve for movement into and out of engagement with said seat, said valve cage including a circular skirt, of substantially the same internal diameter as said beforementioned shoulder, a washer adapted to be wedged between an edge of said skirt and an edge of said shoulder to provide a liquid tight seal, a second circular shoulder concentric with and relatively larger than said first shoulder, a transparent dome arranged to be threaded into said body member on a body thread formed concentrically with said last mentioned shoulder; and a washer arranged to be wedged between an edge of said last mentioned shoulder and an edge or said dome-to provide a liquid tight joint between said dome and said body member.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination of a. transparent plastic body member, a valve seat in said body member, a rubber valve on said seat, a rubber arm formed integrally with said valve, a circular shoulder coaxial with said valve seat, a valve cage arranged to guide said valve for movement into and out of engagement with said seat, said cage having a bore to receive the arm on said valve and a circular skirt, of substantially the same internal diameter as said beforementioned shoulder, a washer adapted to be wedged between the internal edge of said skirt and the external edge of said shoulder to provide a liquid tight seal, a second circular shoulder concentric with and relatively larger than said first shoulder, transparent plastic dome arranged to be threaded into said body member on a body thread formed concentrically with said last mentioned shoulder; and a washer arranged to be wedged between the external edge of said last mentioned shoulder and the internal edge of said dome to provide a liquid tight joint between said dome and said body member.

7. In a device of the character described, the combination of a transparent plastic body member, a valve seat in said body member, a flexible valve on said seat, a flexible arm on said valve,

' liquid seal, a second circular shoulder concentric with and relatively larger than said first shoulder, a transparent plastic dome arranged to be threaded into said body member on a body thread formed concentrically with said last mentioned shoulder; and a washer arranged to be wedged between the edge of said last mentioned shoulder and the edge of said dome to provide a liquid tight joint between said dome and said body member.

JEFF CORYDON. HERBERT E. HOLLBERG.

a circular shoulder co-axial with said valveseat, a valve cage having a co-axial bore to re- 

